Plantar Fasciitis: Video and Tips

If you don’t have time to watch the video, look below to find the definition of Plantar Fasciitis as well as some steps for how to treat it. 

The Mayo Clinic has defined Plantar Fasciitis as, “inflammation of the fibrous tissue (plantar fascia) along the bottom of your foot that connects your heel bone to your toes.” Plantar fasciitis causes intense heel pain and discomfort. 

Tips for Plantar Fasciitis

1) Check your shoes and make sure they aren’t worn out. (Or bring them into Swags and we can help you determine if your shoes need to be replaced.)

2) Over the counter orthotics (Powerstep) are extremely helpful. It’s all about getting something underneath your arch to help take the pressure off of your heel and your plantar fascia. 

3) Don’t go barefoot, even when you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. It begins to heal overnight and when you stand up in the morning it strains it when you don’t have shoes on. Have house shoes or something on at all times. Shoes by Oofos, Hoka, Vionic, and Chaco are great to use as house shoes. 

4) Ice your feet as much as possible. Freeze a water bottle and roll your foot on the bottle. You can also fill up a Dixie cup with water, freeze it, then after it’s frozen massage your foot with it and peel away the paper. 

5) Don’t do any weight bearing stretches. We stretch to prevent injury not when we already have one. You can do the alphabet to help with range of motion and to wake up the foot. 

6) We have sleeves by CEP and Powerstep which help to put pressure on it and helps with discomfort. These sleeves also helps with blood flow. (Helps to decrease inflammation)

7) Rest...we know this is hard but rest will do your body a lot of good. It is best to do lower impact or non weight bearing activities while trying to get rid of this injury. Biking, elliptical, and swimming are some examples of these types of activities. 

Disclaimer: We are not doctors but have learned a lot about plantar fasciitis because of our profession. These are tips we have found to work but we encourage you to seek out a doctor for their professional opinion and diagnosis.